Chocolate Cream Pie

The last time I made this was for my dad a week before he passed away.

He told me that this was the best Chocolate Cream Pie he ever had!

It needs to be well chilled before it's served and I wont list the calories on this monster!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Pie

16 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes and chilled,

      plus more for pie plate

1/4 C packed light brown sugar

1 9 oz. package chocolate wafers, such as Nabisco,

   finely ground (about 2 1/4 cups)

3 1/2 C. half-and-half

2/3 C. plus 2 Tbs sugar

1/4 C. cornstarch

9 egg yolks

9 oz. semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 C heavy cream

dark chocolate, for garnish

1.  Heat oven to 375. Grease bottom and sides of a 9" glass pie plate with butter; set aside.  heat 8 Tbsp. butter and brown sugar in a 1 quart saucepan until sugar dissolves.  Transfer butter mixture to a medium bowl; stir in ground wafers.  Transfer mixture to pie plate; press into bottom and sides, using the bottom of a measuring cup to compress crust.  Refrigerate for 20 min.  Bake until set, about 15 min; let cool

2.  Heat half-and-half in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to simmer; remove pan from heat.  In a large bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch; add egg yolks and whisk until smooth.  Drizzle half-and-half into egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat.  Cook, stirring often, until bubbles rise to the surface and mixture is very thick, 3-4 min.  Remove pan from heat and add remaining butter and chocolates in small batches, whisking until smooth; stir in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Set a sieve over a medium bowl and strain chocolate mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic onto surface; refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.

3.  Remove plastic wrap from chocolate filling and using a rubber spatula, stir mixture until smooth.  Spoon mixture into reserved crust, forming a dome, and smooth surface with spatula.  In a large bowl, whisk remaining sugar, remaining vanilla, and heavy cream until stiff peaks form; spread on top of filling, forming a dome.  Using a peeler, shave some of the dark chocolate onto top of pie.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve!  Whew!  It is well worth the time for the scrumptious dessert!